So I’m sure many of you have noticed a distinct lack of content here of late. Or, you have noticed that you haven’t noticed us being as active as we had been? Or maybe you hadn’t noticed us at all, in which case I’m talking to myself again…

Well many interesting things have happened of late and I’m sorry to say that I’ve made up my mind to take an extended hiatus (as wimpy emo bands would call it) from the blog. Yup, without trying to sound self important, because it ain’t a big deal in fairness, I just don’t have the same amount of time to do this project justice as I once had. We’ve had a great run, some amazing writers (who I’d like to thank loads for all of their contributions and patience) and a steady flow of amazing people that I’ve met over the last year or so whether it be online or at events around and about.

As far as the 2XM show goes, Anthony is running that for the moment and we’re deciding what the best course to take with it is.

I will be back with a new project in some shape or form when my brain lets me, but for the moment you can catch me here, here or here (and if Darren lets me, here).

Thanks for reading

RARE

Tartare.

[News]

65 release imminent

You can now stream the latest album by 65daysofstatic in its entirety on their MySpace page. It’s dividing opinions left, right and centre. Personally, I love it.

Broken Social Scene pre-order goodies

The pre-order for the latest Broken Social Scene CD/2LP/7×10″ (!) is currently up and running, and if you’re a fan you should jump on it as you’ll get a bonus EP thrown into the deal. Check it out.

Mineral and Gloria Record LPs to be repressed

Lots of things are being repressed at the moment, but these are particularly relevant to my interests. Both Mineral albums and The Gloria Record’s Start Here LP are getting reissued on vinyl. A chance to pick up three of the most defining albums of the last 20 years without paying eBay prices. Pre-orders start soon.

[Recent Arrivals]

Acid Tiger – Acid Tiger

I don’t know what the definition of ’southern rock’ is. One would assume it involves being southern, but Brooklyn, NY based collective Acid Tiger well… aren’t. ‘Southern rock’, however, was a phrase I had seen thrown in their direction prior to listening and, after listening, I can see why. Featuring members of Converge, United Nations and Thursday, Acid Tigers deftly ply the laid-back bar room swagger that that seems more fitting to dust and heat than grime and concrete.

There have been a couple of albums recently — I’m thinking specifically of Cycles by Soul Control and Heavier Than Heaven… by Blacklisted — which successfully eschew the high fret antics usually associated with hardcore records in favour of old school grunge-style grooves. Acid Tiger take this a step father back by channelling the cock-rock stylings of Led Zep et al. Tracks like Big Beat can’t help but make you think of The Doors, drum solo and all.

My first impression of this record, back when it was announced, was that Acid Tiger could be the new These Arms Are Snakes. Sure enough it’s a gap that needs filling, and though I can’t confirm that opinion until I see them live, I think they’re up to the job. Genre-hopping and undeniable attitude abound throughout the disc. Label, Deathwish Inc, hesitantly call this record ‘fun’. I think they should embrace that comment. You don’t need a background in heavy music to get into this album. It really is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

If, like me, you had a misspent youth filled with classic rock records, this is the perfect album to ease you into the 21st century.

Available on vinyl and CD now.

Horse Feathers – Thistled Spring

I first discovered the work of Horse Feathers by digging through the Peter Broderick back-catalogue. Those familiar with the Portland multi-instrumentalist will be aware that this is a time-consuming but rewarding process and, certainly, Horse Feathers are one of my most cherished discoveries. Their third album, released this week on Kill Rock Stars, sees them step way from the three-piece they once were (formerly featuring Peter’s equally talented sister, Heather Woods Broderick) and toward the four piece setup that they have been recently touring with. It’s comforting to note that what has been gained is simply a sense of solidity. A real band experience rather than the previous ‘friends in an Oregon living room’ sound. There’s no grandiose string fills or shiny production. The intimacy is still very much present and the whole record shimmers like the airplane-less sunshine we’d been experiencing up until recently.

The west coast of lil’ old America has been producing no shortage of great folk recently; Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom being notable examples. If those names appeal to you then there is every chance you’ll fall for this record. Vocalist Justin Ringle’s voice exudes that breathy ‘whisper in your ear’ quality that makes you at once sit up and listen, then fall back and relax.

The title track opener tells you everything you need to know. Piano, cello, violin and voice lead you through the captivating piece and leaves you thoroughly enchanted. ‘Cascades’, which was released as a 7″ late last year backed with a rather wonderful Gillian Welch cover, acts as transition between earlier records and this one. Bowed saw and harmonium round out the hazy rustic charm. Horse Feathers are the kind of band that, once heard, will stick with you for ever more.

Thistled Spring is available now on CD and vinyl.

[From the Archives]

A blast from the past. The records you might have missed and that I almost forgot about.

John Vanderslice – Mass Suicide Occult Figurines (2000)

John Vanderslice is a very hard man to dislike. Ever approachable, he is a musicians’ musician, operating one of the last all-analogue recording studios in the United States, Tiny Telephone. Every release is a labour of love and his albums are some of the best-produced records I’ve heard. His debut solo album, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, has always struck me as being desperately overlooked. Why this is I’ve never been sure, as it contains great track after great track. The fact that it’s named after a Neutral Milk Hotel lyric should, in itself, be enough to send indie kids flocking, but oh well.

Punchy and abrasive by JV standards, the album opens with songs about being lost at sea, class-A drug manufacturing and killing the owner of Microsoft. It’s a dark record compared to his most recent LP, Romanian Names, but it is littered with Vanderslice’s trademark wit and insight. He has proved his worth as a songwriter time and time again (to me, at least), handling politics and the human condition with an intelligence and expertise that is so often lacking in modern songwriting. At times humorous and moving, these are songs which will hit you on different levels during each listen. Catchy enough to sing along to and profound enough to indulge in, there is a real lasting appeal. Match that to wonderful production and this is an all-round great album.

You can download it for free from John’s website. I would however encourage shelling out for the CD to get the most out of the high fidelity experience.

But I’m old fashioned like that.

TV opening credits exist in a strange limbo, when it comes to their being an integral part of the show. I suppose the best way to describe it would be that they’re similar to a recurring background character; their presence is purely to serve a purpose, but if they’re played out in the right way they can be charming, and become as much a part of a programme’s identity as the location or the cast.

So what makes for a good opening?

Brevity

This is an obvious one for our generation of short atten…

sorry, what was I saying? Anyway, keeping credits brief doesn’t remove your audience from the programme, particularly if there’s a cold open (right into the action) in use. No better example of this than LOST, which is better described as a title flashcard than opening credits. Although, if the idea of short attention spans ever crossed JJ Abrams’ mind, he might just have packed the whole thing in back when people still gave a damn. The West Wing and Arrested Development are two other programmes which keep things brisk, and let us get into the show we came to watch.

Music

Oh so crucial. No music, no love. No love, I switch you off. The music behind the theme songs becomes so familiar to us over the course of a series that, if we don’t like it, we’ll find it very hard to truly warm to the programme. I worked out recently (admittedly, it was a ‘napkin calculation’) that most TV viewers between the ages of 25 and 40 will have spent around a day of their lives watching the opening credits of The Simpsons.

And trust me, when we’re old, it’s that bright and addictive music that will bring us right back to our prime. That’s the tune that will prompt us to tell our grandchildren that animation used to be a lot better in our day — as they watch Seth McFarlane’s 407th attempt at humour, centered around a displaced yuppie couple living in a Brazilian slum with a talking stoat for a child.

The aforementioned West Wing boasts a stirring, beautiful composition that sets the tone perfectly for the programme it opens. The Wire, meanwhile, doesn’t offer much in the line of credits (one of its only flaws), but gets the music right each time via various artists’ takes on Tom Waits’ Way Down In The Hole.

On the other end of the scale, McFarlane can just do no right when it comes to credits. It started off badly with Family Guy, but deteriorated (along with the quality of the programmes themselves, it must be said) as American Dad and The Cleveland Show hit horrendous new depths.

Detail

Back to The Simpsons. Put simply, you can still watch that and pick up something new every time. The Sopranos lacks brevity and the tune, while good, isn’t enough to prompt repeated viewings. However every time Tony takes that drive to New Jersey, there’s something else to be seen. It’s visually fantastic, and definitely worth watching through once or twice a season at least.

Dynamism

Back we go, once again, to Springfield. Chalkboard gag, couch gag. Or possibly to the year 3,000 with the advertising hoarding and sponsors’ messages in Futurama. Groening is the anti-McFarlane when it comes to opening sequences, it seems.

Show, don’t tell

Thanks, Lois, for pointing out in your nasal tones that the show is about a “family guy”. And it’s always helpful, when watching The Cleveland Show, to hear the words “this is the Cleveland Show!” It’s not a million miles away from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, or Home And Away, which give lengthy descriptions of their protagonists’ lives rather than letting us see them for ourselves.

It would, however, be interesting to hear a similar tactic deployed on Coronation St. Let’s see them try to fit 50 years’ worth of material into that tune. Perhaps they could fit one back story into each edition…

“Gail has wed several times before,
But we wonder if they’ll allow her any more?
‘Cos they all end up dead…
Enough said?”

“Tony, such an evil fiend,
For a while, you had us all deceived.
But you took your best mate’s life,
Now you’re in love with his wife…”

And so on…

‘Hidden’ clues

Alright, ‘hidden’ is a bit of a push. But there’s a certain excitement to seeing someone’s name and face added to the opening sequence of The West Wing, knowing they’re now one of the ‘family’. All the other random faces who appear in the show are treated with suspicion, and generally assumed to be working in secret for the Republicans — until they appear in the opening montage.

So is there anything else that makes for a good set of credits? Are they really a core part of a show’s personality, or just a load of names on the screen? And seriously, who’s up for that Coronation Street idea?

We had a little chat on the show this week about the status of certain US shows in terms of coming back for a new season next year and those already confirmed for the scrapheap. Smallville for example is confirmed for a tenth year (TENTH) while one time cult fave Ugly Betty has been cancelled after four seasons. Bearing all this TV schedule drama in mind we decided to comb through our report and where certain shows are at to provide you with this list of the 5 US shows whose status you should pay attention to, for various reasons.

Glee

The winners of the new TV season.

Obviously this has been the runaway hit of the year on both sides of the Atlantic. New episodes return stateside next month and there is already talk of extra episodes during the second season. This is all well and good but with such a high concept premise and an exhausting production schedule (multiple musical numbers to be recorded, choreographed and filmed per episode) this is a show that could very quickly lose stem. Recent shows like Pushing Daisies with similar levels of production have faltered during later seasons because of spiralling budgets so it’ll be interesting to see where this show goes in the next 12 months.

Melrose Place

Struggling to find an audience over at Melrose Place

I defended this rather enjoyable guilty pleasure on the show during the week despite the likelihood of it being cancelled. What makes Melrose Place an interesting case is how it was tipped for big things when it was announced for The CW network last year. It debuted with a big marketing push but has struggled to find viewers. Unlike the 90210 reboot which managed to find an eager teen audience, the murder mystery storyline and mixture of old and new cast members has made this show a hard sell for many. An interesting example of how not all high profile remakes can catch on with audiences.

Cougar Town

Courtney Cox as the Queen of Cougar Town

New comedies are in rude health as displayed by the success of this and other new hits Modern Family and Community have shown. Matching the quirky sensibilities of Bill Lawrence, the creator of Scrubs (which is widely believed to finish this season) with the longstanding appeal of Courtney Cox, Cougar Town has managed to surpass a hokey sounding premise to be one of the surprise hits of the year. You can catch it Mondays on RTE Two.

Grey’s Anatomy

Katherine bids TV farewell

Obviously still a hugely popular series with a devoted fanbase Grey’s is very likely to get picked up for another season in a few months time. A show not without it’s problems in terms of cast mates, one of it’s biggest stars Katherine Heigl has been rumoured to be leaving for a while. With several sources announcing her departure this year it leaves the show open to more casting discussion. Will the remaining actors vie for more money and screentime? Or will this long running series attempt to inject some fresh blood. A show worth keeping an eye to see how it weathers another casting storm.

V

Can the new V become a fully fledged hit?

A much hyped start but struggling to find it’s feet, it’ll be interesting to see how this sci-fi remake fares in the next few months. Insiders say there’s some good stuff to come but will audiences stick around? The troubled production history of this show already makes a bit of a liability for US network ABC but given how fervent online fanbases for genre shows get there might be some life left in V yet.

We all know that familiar feeling. Reading a graphic novel and thinking “this is high art I can relate to”. For decades the mainstream perception of comics has been that they are another medium with which to entertain kids. We know different, we became enthralled with the colourful world of “A Superman for all seasons”, saw the darker side of vampire fiction with “30 days of night” and laughed at the dark comedy of “The Chronicles of Wormwood”. The world of comics and graphic novels is rife with rich, wonderfully told stories….so how the hell have some film adaptations gotten it so wrong??

Now I am not one of those guys who compares every comic book movie to its source material and immediately writes it off as rubbish. I will admit I have even partaken in arguing on IMDB with those guys because I couldn’t handle their obtuse view (for my shame). I believe that source material should be used in the most appropriate way possible, if that means using minimal reference to the comic, so be it. Some adaptations have been done well, ‘X-men’ set the movie world alight upon its release in and still stands as a great comic book movie in its own right whilst Richard Donner achieved wonderful things with ‘Superman’ in 1978. The unfortunate truth however is that during the craze of superhero moves, many studios have opted to release cash in movies of low quality. We have seen our fair share of good but is the best of comic book movies still ahead of us or have we passed our peak??

We have a winner!!

The Past: It’s easy to forget Comic Book films pre X-men. The 80’s and 90’s were full of adaptations such as the wonderfully stylistic Tim Burton ‘Batman’ (1989/1992) Movies followed by the atrocious Joel Schumacher efforts of ‘Batman Forever’ (1995) and ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997) .The contrast between the two pairs of movies are great reference points for how to and how not to do a comic book film. Some more obscure adaptations have been the faithful ‘The Crow’ (1994) adaptation (one of my favourite graphic novels of all time), the abysmal ‘Spawn’ (1997) movie and the more tolerable ‘Blade’ (1998) series. Many of these movies were made in the “Pre-Matrix” era of special effects and thus didn’t have the luxury of stunning visuals to compliment their action.

No....just..........NO!!!!!

These days most comic book movies are packed to the brim with action and special effects. When ‘X-men’ (2000) and ‘Spider-man’ (2002) performed extremely well at the box office, studios obviously felt that if they put some money into the production values of every comic book they could think of then they were guaranteed a hit.

Such thinking led to inevitable duds such as ‘Hulk’ (2003) (ugh), Catwoman (2004) (…) and Fantastic Four (2005).

I'm sorry, you seem cool and all but no thanks

In 2005 we saw a fresh approach to comic adaptations (and the rise of the “Reboot”) with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman Begins’. Nolan took the approach of minimizing CG imaging and instead focusing on quality casting & story and the result was wonderful. Aside from Katie Holmes’ sub-par performance it’s hard to pick any holes in ‘Batman Begins’. Critics responded very well to the film and it did reasonably well at the box office (at least well enough to justify a sequel).

Bryan Singer followed suit with a “Semi Reboot” of the Superman series; ‘Superman Returns’ (2006). This received mixed reviews and did not nearly gross the numbers that Warner Bros thought it should, hence putting the ‘Man of Steel’ on the shelf for a while (So upsetting).

In the time after this, we saw a dramatic decline in the success of Comic Book movies. Sam Raimi hit a terrible note with ‘Spider-man 3’ (The Jazz Club Scene L), ‘Ghost Rider’ bombed and ‘Fantastic Four 2’ although improved on the original was not exactly a runaway success.

Go Favreau Go!!

2008 saw the release of two very high quality Comic Book movies ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Ironman’. These two films performed extremely well and in the wake of these successes, studios are clearly looking at investing some serious resources into future comic book films.

"How can we turn Superman into this?? Hmmmm"

So where do we stand now? Does the ‘The Dark Knight’ represent a peerless level of quality in Comic Book adaptations? I believe that as the art of film grows the expectations of adaptations should increase as well. Richard Donner made ‘Superman’ in 1978. If we examine that movie we can see a level of production quality that still is rarely achieved in most modern day films; an incredible Soundtrack, a talented cast including Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Terence Stamp, Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder, a screenplay penned by Mario Puzo (The Godfather) and edited by world class editor Stuart Baird. This roster of superstar filmmakers is a testament to just how ahead of its time the movie was.

Chris Nolan brought great quality to ‘The Dark Knight’ in 2008 but 30 years previous Donner was making huge strides of his own. The secret to a good adaptation is care and respect for the material, good production quality and good casting. Has ‘The Dark Knight’ changed the industry for the better or has it simply set the bar too high??

The pinnacle??

So many films in production, next we examine the adaptations yet to come.

What are your favourite adaptations?

Please post your thoughts below

I had the satisfaction of attending the preview of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and was delighted with the big screen adaptation of a book that really made a mark on me.

The fear is always that the director will hold back when working with a brutal story, to make it more palatable for viewers. Let me state clearly that this is not the case here. Niels Arden Oplev has done a stellar job of translating a difficult book to the screen. Stieg Larsson’s novel is really a treatise on sexual abuse and the shortfallings of the social care system in Sweden, wrapped up in a murder mystery, and Oplev has managed to maintain the thrills without losing the substance.  Some of the scenes are terribly violent, even difficult to watch, but the purpose of the story is to highlight situations of abuse.

Shot in a bleak, desaturated manner, and with carefully crafted cinematography, Oplev gets the most from the barren, lonely landscapes, crafting a beautiful picture of northern Sweden. The emptiness of the country and the harsh light really reflect the hushed atmosphere of dark secrets just beneath the surface. Excellently realistic acting from the cast, especially Nyqvist and Rapace, portray the stark realism of Larsson’s message.

The two sequels have already been shot, and with this great example I can only look forward to the rest of the trilogy. 8/10

Ladies and gents, we are pleased to announce that this very here blog has been officially shortlisted in the best Pop-Culture blog category. We’d like to thanks anyone who voted for us, and we will of course be seeing ya’ll at the Irish Blog Awards on March 27th in Galway

This cool badge was designed by Steph, I’ll have to update mine to say shortlisted

We had a bit of a conversation about award shows on The Venntertainment Show this week (get thee to the podcast now please if you haven’t.) I wouldn’t say it was a conversation so much as me ranting in an excitable way as I am obsessed (obsessed!) with award shows. They are truly the greatest thing about the Hollywood machine. We discussed some of the cliches of the shows throughout the piece but what if? What if something different happened? Here are the things that I would like to see happen at awards shows:

“I really want to win!”

I’m so sick of these drips at the Oscars etc saying things like “I’m just happy to be nominated”. Eh, you’re there to win! I want to see a few stars with their eye on the prize who aren’t afraid to say it. “Well if I don’t win, I’d be raging to be honest” would be a much more interesting statement for your Kate Winslets to be saying then the usual guff. I want to see people diving for that Oscar trophy and starting fights on the red carpet about how they deserve it.

Who Are You Wearing?

Nicole Kidman should wear this in pink.

I would love to see someone turn up to the Oscars in a tracksuit. I’m not sure why as this kind of sartorial no-no would usually annoy me. But I can’t help but feel that the sight of Nicole Kidman in a bit of Juicy Couture would be a nice break from the sea of evening gowns that is the red carpet for most of these things. Admit it, you’d laugh! Also it makes them much more of the people because let’s face we all feel alot more comfortable dressed down than in some ridiculous get up.

More Ridiculous Moments

Ridiculous!

The best bit of any awards show is always when somebody veers off script and does something ridiculous. I’m thinking Jennifer Garner tripping on her dress while presenting at the Oscars, Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift that sort of thing. It would be great to just see producers of awards show let celebrities be their obviously crazy selves more often. These ridiculous auto cue scripts they read are a pile of rubbish. There should more trainwreck moments because they are way way way way more fun to watch then some painful attempt at humour between two actors. Have you noticed how bad alot of these people are at reading auto cues too by the way? Surely if you’re an actor it shouldn’t be that much of a stretch? Given that reading lines you’ve been given is kind of YOUR JOB.

Seatfiller Glory

The greatest job in the world?

Some of you may or may not have heard of seatfillers. They are people employed to sit in the seats left empty during awards show to make the audience look full on screen. Usually they are placed in seats when a celebrity has to get up to accept an award, present one or perform. Obviously this is a ridiculous job but wouldn’t it be gas if the seatfillers didn’t get up? I dream of an awards show where all the celebs are left standing in the aisles in desperation while some nobodies take the front row award show seat. Amazing. Fun fact, Destiny’s Child alum Kelly Rowland made a movie about this very subject. View the trailer for this cinematic milestone here

Funny Faces

More of this kind of thing please.

I really want to see a celeb pull a really unflattering funny face when the camera hits the mid show. Wouldn’t that be ten times more interesting then their “I know the camera is on me but I’m going to keep my cool” stuff they pull. It’d make the whole thing alot more entertaining. Though I’m starting to think that if I ran awards show they’d be full of pratfalls, fights and chaotic seating plans. Although is that such a bad thing?

Am I alone in this? Please tell me, how would you like to improve/degrade award shows? Maybe we should a Venntertainment one and it’ll just be full of celebs making funny faces. Sound off below.

Did you hear us having a chat about boxsets and such on the show this week? If you did, you’ll have heard us natter about how you can now make your own TV schedule and indulge in your favourite show for episodes on end. If you haven’t heard it then YOU CRAZY FOOL go over to our podcast and relieve your ears.

Anyway, with that in mind me and Rob decided to share some boxsets we enjoyed and/or recommend. Obviously we have different tastes but I think both of us can show you how you can create a new favourite with just a few discs of TV pleasure. Here are five boxsets I’ve enjoyed and am now passing on to you to improve your life a great deal.

The Comeback

A hidden gem

This underrated gem is a perfect show to catch up with on DVD. A HBO comedy that comes over like The Office meets Curb Your Enthusiasm with a dose of Kath and Kim, it’s a bizare but enthralling watch. Lisa Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish, a faded sitcom star who lands a part on a new sitcom but also has to film a reality TV show about the experience. The show takes the form of the reality show raw footage and shows us the show within a show of the sitcom she’s working on. It’s at times an uncomfortable watch but a fascinating one. The whole thing is brilliantly realised mixing awkward, painful moments with stellar performances along the way. Kudrow is particularly good, you’ll forget all notions of Friends within five minutes of the first episode as her layered and subtle performance reels you in. This might be light on traditional laughs but it’s an engaging and offbeat slice of comedy and one that deserves a wider audience. There was only one season but in this case it works quite well. This feels like a self contained story that wraps perfectly with it’s last episode. A fine piece of satire meets mockumentary, this is well worth a look.

Arrested Development

Classic comedy

An obvious choice but with good reason. This show only really makes sense when watched in large chunks via DVD. A ensemble mockumentary comedy about a dysfunctional family who fall out of their vast fortune it is ripe full of memorable moments and the kind of sly recurring jokes that only become appreciated when you watch episodes back to back. This is still one of the most snappily written sitcoms of the last ten years. The characters are brilliantly drawn and the surreal and slapstick nature of the comedy is a winning mix. Arrested Development still feels like a unique show that has yet to be bettered elsewhere. Get boned up on this before that inevitable movie rolls into cinemas.

Alias

Addictive drama

A show that is frequently forgotten amongst action fans and fantasy nuts,  Alias works brilliantly when viewed in marathon sized chunks. This complex, ridiculous twisty spy drama from J.J. Abrams is vastly underrated. Abrams used this show to catch the eye of Tom Cruise for Mission Impossible 3 (he was reported to have gone through an entire season of the show on DVD in a few days and realised he wanted Abrams to direct the film) and it’s easy to see why. There is breath taking action sequences, numerous ridiculous disguises and some fantastic dramatic moments. Jennifer Garner leads a stellar cast that make somewhat silly material feel tense and realistic. There were five seasons with some varying greatly in quality but the first two are masterclasses in how to do big over-reaching story arcs and pulse pounding action within the confines of a TV budget. The building plotlines and cliffhangers will have you swapping discs quicker than you can say “next episode” and you will find yourself hooked. Without question.

Gossip Girl

Teen drama at it's finest

This one might prompt some eye rolls but this glossy, tongue in cheek hit show is a joy to behold in boxset form. The first season takes a few episodes to get going but once it does it’ll stick it’s well manicured designer clobber laden nails right into you and won’t let go ’til you watch the final episode. The pace is relentless with one liners and backstabbing a regular feature of every episode. Following the lives of a bunch of elite rich kids and the not so rich kids that come into their orbit it’s one of the few teen dramas to have any semblance of attitude. And in the guise of Chuck Bass has one of the few teen show characters that trascend the usual cliches to create something genuinely interesting and more importantly genuinely cool. Gossip Girl is fluff without a doubt but it’s also self aware, sharp and an example of how to do trashy, sharpy TV with aplomb. Give this one a go, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Sex and the City

Perfect chill out fodder.

Judge ALL YOU WANT but this is my favourite boxset to kick back with to chill out after a hard day or to throw on with a couple of like minded mates. It’s perfect for vegging out in front of but is also fantastic for throwing on with a few mates and picking out the plot holes/ridiculous moments. Sample quotes from such sessions include:

“Why is she wearing that?”

“Why is Carrie so irritating?”

“Is Samantha not tired from all this constant shagging?”

Sex and the City has an instant, familiar feeling that makes it the perfect show to keep on standby when you’re not quite sure to put in the DVD player. Plus the half hour running time means you can watch a few in a short space of time. Won’t carry the kudos of a Sopranos marathon but will provide you with plenty of repeat viewing and even more fun.

What about your favourites? Do let us know, I’m quite curious to see what Rob comes up with. And also if I can convince him to watch Gossip Girl. Watch this space!

So…the nominations are in! In my view, nothing shocking here. Obviously, I’m delighted that Tarantino has got a nomination for Inglourious Basterds – I just loved that movie. Also, some great news for the Irish with a nomination for The Secret of Kells in the animated categoryand Granny O’Grimm in the animated shorts category. Brilliant also to see movies like District 9 getting a mention and of course Up in the Air.

Cameron has done it again with Avatar. Even though it’s all so predictable, you gotta give the guy some credit. Everything he touches turns to Gold.

I’ve highlighted who I WANT to win an Oscar. Obviously, we don’t always get what we want, but it would be nice! Let’s hear your thoughts on who should win an Oscar.

Best Film
District 9
Avatar
The Blind Side
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air

Best Director
James Cameron: Avatar
Katherine Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels – Precious
Jason Reitman – Up In The Air
Quentin Tarantino – Inglorious Basterds

Best Actor
Geroge Clooney – Up In The Air
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Meryl Streep – Julie and Julia
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Gabby Sidibe – Precious
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Helen Mirren – The Last Station

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz – Inglorious Basterds
Matt Damon – Invictus
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrleson – The Messengers
Christopher Plumber – The Last Station

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz – Nine
Vera Fermiga – Up In The Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick – Up In The Air
Mo’Nique- Precious

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
The Messengers
Up
A Serious Man
Inglorious Basterds

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
An Education
In The Loop
Precious
Up In The Air

Best Animated Movie
Up
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Coraline
You can check out the full list over here.